DOCSLIB.ORG

The Great Chicago Fire

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Great Chicago Fire rd 3 Grade Social Sciences ILS—16A, 16C, 16D, 17A The Great Chicago Fire How did the Great Chicago Fire of October 1871 change the way people designed and constructed buildings in the city? Vocabulary This lesson assumes that students already know the basic facts about the Chicago Fire. The lesson is designed to help students think about what happened after the load-bearing method a method of fire died out and Chicagoans started to rebuild their city. construction where bricks that form the walls support the structure Theme skeleton frame system a method This lesson helps students investigate how the fire resulted in a change of the of construction where a steel frame construction methods and materials of buildings. By reading first-hand accounts, acts like the building’s skeleton to support the weight of the structure, using historic photographs, and constructing models, students will see how the and bricks or other materials form the people of Chicago rebuilt their city. building’s skin or outer covering story floors or levels of a building Student Objectives • write from the point of view of a person seen in photographs taken shortly after conflagration a large destructive fire the Great Chicago Fire • point of view trying to imagine distinguish between fact and opinion Grade Social Sciences how another person might see or rd • differentiate between a primary source and a secondary source 3 understand something • discover and discuss the limitations and potential of load-bearing and skeleton frame construction methods primary source actual records that 31 • respond to questions and make inferences about the growth of the American have survived from the past, such as letters, photographs, census data, skyscraper and its connection to inventions from the industrial era oral histories, and maps Activities secondary source memories of • observe, analyze, and interpret two well-known historic Chicago photographs the past created by people recalling the events some time after they • build models of pre-fire and post-fire buildings using the two different happened; secondary sources use construction methods primary sources to create a story • interpret a graph to understand the change (and reasons for the change) in building through writing, film, lectures, The Great Chicago Fire The heights after the fire or exhibits; projects completed by students are examples of secondary sources Type • indoor, desktop activities fact something that actually • optional: field trips to important Chicago Fire sites happened or existed opinion something that you think Timeframe is true, although not everyone may five class sessions of 40 minutes each agree with you Materials • approximately 20 wooden blocks, 20 small boxes, or 20 sugar cubes (per small student group) • two bags of stale mini-marshmallows and several boxes of toothpicks; ® or a set of Tinker Toys • roll of aluminum foil • Handout A - K-W-H-L chart • Handout B - photograph of the Water Tower from post-fire Chicago Schoolyards to Skylines © 2002 Chicago Architecture Foundation Materials (continued) • Handout C - map showing path of the Great Chicago Fire • Handout D - comparing the load-bearing method with a skeleton frame system • Handout E - questions and chart showing growth of the American skyscraper • Handout F - photograph of city re-building after the fire Teacher Prep • photocopy Handouts A and E (one per student) • photocopy or scan Handouts B, C, D, and F for display or projection • prepare the marshmallows by allowing them to sit out on a tray for a day Interdisciplinary (stale marshmallows make sturdier building materials, and students are less likely to eat them) Connections Health / Safety Tie this lesson in with Fire Safety Week at your school. Background Information for Teacher Language Arts Ask students to write a letter Building construction methods: Chicago Pre-Fire vs. Chicago Post-Fire to Mrs. O’Leary and her family In Chicago before 1871, most residential and smaller commercial buildings were The Great Chicago Fire The describing present-day Chicago. constructed from wood. Sidewalks throughout the city also were made from wood. Include drawings. Those combustible materials combined with the hot dry summer led, inevitably, to the Chicago Fire that began on October 8, 1871. Larger commercial buildings constructed before the Chicago Fire were built using a type of construction called the load-bearing method. When one brick is stacked on top of another, the bricks on the bottom support and carry the weight of the bricks on the top. But this method severely limited how tall the buildings could 32 be designed and built. As the building reached higher, the walls at the bottom had to be made thicker to support all the weight of the building. As the walls at the 3 rd bottom were made thicker, there was less space between the walls for usable rooms. Grade Social Sciences A further problem arose because floors and ceilings were constructed of wood: if the building caught fire, the interior would burn quickly and lead to the collapse of bricks on the exterior. After the Chicago Fire, the City passed laws that prevented most public buildings from being constructed out of wood. The City decreed that architects needed to design “fireproof” buildings. Although brick and stone were fireproof, these materials limited the heights of buildings. Cast iron, which had been used in construction since 1850, allowed greater flexibility in height and building design. But cast iron melted quite easily in a fire. By the mid 1880s, a stronger material called steel had been perfected. Steel dramatically increased how high buildings could be built. Steel was stronger, lighter, and more resistant to melting than any other building material. Steel enabled architects to overcome the height limitation of the load-bearing construction method. Rather than stacking brick upon brick, the new method of construction used steel to create a frame or skeleton. This method of construction is known as the skeleton frame system. Walls at the base of the building no longer needed to get thicker in order to support the weight of the building because the Schoolyards to Skylines © 2002 Chicago Architecture Foundation steel frame or skeleton was now doing the work. Bricks and other masonry were still used in this new method of construction, only now they were solely used as the skin or outer covering of the building or as ornamentation: they did not help to support the building. (This method of construction is similar to a tower that is made of toothpicks held together with mini-marshmallows and then covered with aluminum foil.) Chicago claims the very first skyscraper, the 10-story Home Insurance Building, designed by William Le Baron Jenney and built in 1885 and demolished in 1931. Skyscrapers built today still use the skeleton frame system. Resources Children of the Fire, Harriette Gillem Robinet. New York: Athenaeum, 1991. This historical fiction book is about an African-American girl The effect of the load-bearing method and later change to skeleton frame system named Hallelujah who lived at South State Street and 12th Street. The story, can be seen at the Monadnock Building, 53 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, told from her perspective, tells of the which is the tallest masonry-supported structure in the world. At the north end challenges she and her family faced (1891) of the building, the load-bearing exterior walls are 6-feet thick, and the as they survived the Great Chicago glass window panes are deeply recessed. In contrast, the walls at south section of Fire. Although the book is written at th the building are thinner and the glass window panes are not recessed. The south approximately a 5 grade level, you might choose to read portions of it section of the building was constructed two years later with a skeleton frame. aloud to your class. For information about terra cotta, which is another important fireproof building material “Did the Cow Do It? A New Look Grade Social Sciences at the Great Chicago Fire” in in Chicago history, see the Fine Arts lesson for Third Grade. rd Illinois Historical Journal, Spring, 3 1997, Richard F. Bales. For information about how buildings stand up, see the Science lesson for Third Grade. The Great Chicago Fire: In 33 Eyewitness Accounts and 70 For information about the first skyscraper (the 10-story Home Insurance Building), see Contemporary Photographs the Language Arts lesson for Third Grade. and Illustrations, David Lowe, ed. New York: Dover Publications, 1979. Although this book is aimed at adults, the amazing pictures will capture the Activity Procedures attention of your students. The Great Fire, Jim Murphy. DAY ONE and DAY TWO New York: Scholastic Inc., 1995. Great Chicago Fire The This student-friendly book is a Give each student a copy of the K-W-H-L chart in Handout A and fill in the wonderful resource for teaching the 1 Chicago Fire. Maps, photographs, blanks together as a class. drawings, and portions of a diary by Claire Innes, a young girl who - What do they Know about buildings built before and after the Great Chicago survived the fire, make this book a Fire of October 1871? solid teaching tool. A recording of - What do they Want to know about these buildings? the book is also available. - How can they find out more information? - What have they Learned? (As a follow-up to the lesson.) Read the following quotation to your class as you display the photograph 2 of the Water Tower from Handout B that was taken a few days after the fire near the corner of North Michigan Avenue and Chicago Avenue. Discuss which of his statements are facts and which statements are opinions. Explain the differences between primary sources and secondary sources to your students.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The History of the City of Chicago Flag
    7984 S. South Chicago Ave. - Chicago, IL 60616 Ph: 773-768-8076 Fx: 773-768-3138 www.wgnflag.com The History of the City of Chicago Flag In 1915, Alderman James A Kearns proposed to the city council that Chicago should have a flag. Council approved the proposal and established the Chicago Flag Commission to consider designs for the flag. A contest was held and a prize offered for the winning design. The competition was won by Mr. Wallace Rice, author and editor, who had been interested in flags since his boyhood. It took Mr. Rice no less than six weeks to find a suitable combination of color, form, and symbolism. Mr. Rice’s design was approved by the city council in the summer of 1917. Except for the addition of two new stars—one in 1933 commemorating “the Century of Progress” and one in 1939 commemorating Fort Dearborn—the flag remains unchanged to this day. In explaining some of the symbolism of his flag design, Mr. Rice says: It is white, the composite of all colors, because its population is a composite of all nations, dwelling here in peace. The white is divided into three parts—the uppermost signifying the north side, the larger middle area the great west side with an area and population almost exceeding that of the other two sides, and the lowermost, the south side. The two stripes of blue signify, primarily, Lake Michigan and the north Chicago River above, bounding the north side and south branch of the river and the great canal below.
    [Show full text]
  • Streeterville Neighborhood Plan 2014 Update II August 18, 2014
    Streeterville Neighborhood Plan 2014 update II August 18, 2014 Dear Friends, The Streeterville Neighborhood Plan (“SNP”) was originally written in 2005 as a community plan written by a Chicago community group, SOAR, the Streeterville Organization of Active Resi- dents. SOAR was incorporated on May 28, 1975. Throughout our history, the organization has been a strong voice for conserving the historic character of the area and for development that enables divergent interests to live in harmony. SOAR’s mission is “To work on behalf of the residents of Streeterville by preserving, promoting and enhancing the quality of life and community.” SOAR’s vision is to see Streeterville as a unique, vibrant, beautiful neighborhood. In the past decade, since the initial SNP, there has been significant development throughout the neighborhood. Streeterville’s population has grown by 50% along with new hotels, restaurants, entertainment and institutional buildings creating a mix of uses no other neighborhood enjoys. The balance of all these uses is key to keeping the quality of life the highest possible. Each com- ponent is important and none should dominate the others. The impetus to revising the SNP is the City of Chicago’s many new initiatives, ideas and plans that SOAR wanted to incorporate into our planning document. From “The Pedestrian Plan for the City”, to “Chicago Forward”, to “Make Way for People” to “The Redevelopment of Lake Shore Drive” along with others, the City has changed its thinking of the downtown urban envi- ronment. If we support and include many of these plans into our SNP we feel that there is great- er potential for accomplishing them together.
    [Show full text]
  • Chicago Conflagration
    3 CHICAGO CONFLAGRATION, v: THE ORIGIN AND I HAIR-BREA1 CA CL Ooxxoot FOH .SALE BY ST. I,OMtt BOOK ASI> NKUS < O. r , 20 O J?S. LAWRENCE J. GUTTER Collection of Chico.goo.na THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO The University Library THE GREAT CHICAGO CONFLAGRATION. THK FIRST NEWS. THK SATURDAY NIGHT FIRE. the St. Louis October The lire started in tne large planing mill | From Times, lltb.J situated bat ween Clinton and Canal and What -will doubtless prove the most de- Van Buren and Jackson streets, about the structive conflagration of modern times center of the block formed by these has been raging for two days and nights in streets. The wind was blowing very fresh and the flames spread with almost our sister city of Chicago, laying waste incredible rapidity, and in a few minutes alike the dwellings of the poor and the pal- the entire structure was a mass of fire. aces of the rich, magnificent stores, with The immediate vicinity was built up with small wooden tenement thir millions of merchandise, hotels and mainly houses and two-story frame buildings, oc- public buildings, gas-works, depots and cupied as groceries, saloons, te. The in- waterworks; everything, in fact, that ;lay mates of many of the houses, startled from slumber, had time to rush from the in the broad swarth of the destroyer for barely houses in the scanty attire of night, leav- miles. The city, which at the close of the ing their household goods to destruction. week was bustling with prosperity and In several instances children were hastily wrapped in blankets and quilts to break in its greatness, is now.
    [Show full text]
  • The Great Chicago Fire, Described in Seven Letters by Men and Women
    ®mn . iFaiB The uman Account as descriDecUpp^e-witnesses in seven r i []!. letters written by men and women who experienced its terrors With PAUL M. ANGLE $3.00 THE GREAT CHICAGO FIRE ******** Here is the Great Chicago Fire of 1871— the catastrophe which, in little more than twenty-four hours, took 300 lives, left 90,000 people homeless, and destroyed property worth $200,000,000—described in letters written by men and women who lived through it. Written during the Fire and immedi- ately afterward, these artless letters convey the terrors of the moment—flame-swept streets, anguished crowds, buildings that melted in minutes—with a vividness that no reader can forget. There may be more scholarly, more comprehensive accounts of Chicago's Great Fire, but none approaches this in realism that is almost photographic. Edited, with Introduction and Notes, by Paul M. Angle, Director, The Chicago Historical Society. Published by the Society in commemoration of the seventy-fifth an- niversary of the Fire. THE GREAT CHICAGO EIRE m '' "-. ' . '' ifi::-;5?jr:::^:; '-; .] .'."' : "' ;; :"". .:' -..;:,;'.:, 7: LINCOLN ROOM UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY MEMORIAL the Class of 1901 founded by HARLAN HOYT HORNER and HENRIETTA CALHOUN HORNER Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign http://archive.org/details/greatchicagofireOOangl "=VI The Great Chicago Fire decorated by Joseph Trautwein fgqis (cm3(CA<a(D DESCRIBED IN SEVEN LETTERS BY MEN AND WOMEN WHO EXPERIENCED ITS HORRORS, AND NOW PUBLISHED IN COM- MEMORATION OF THE SEVENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CATASTROPHE Introduction and Notes by Paul M.
    [Show full text]
  • Chicago Information Guide [ 5 HOW to USE THIS G UIDE
    More than just car insurance. GEICO can insure your motorcycle, ATV, and RV. And the GEICO Insurance Agency can help you fi nd homeowners, renters, boat insurance, and more! ® Motorcycle and ATV coverages are underwritten by GEICO Indemnity Company. Homeowners, renters, boat and PWC coverages are written through non-affi liated insurance companies and are secured through the GEICO Insurance Agency, Inc. Some discounts, coverages, payment plans and features are not available in all states or all GEICO companies. Government Employees Insurance Co. • GEICO General Insurance Co. • GEICO Indemnity Co. • GEICO Casualty Co. These companies are subsidiaries of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. GEICO: Washington, DC 20076. GEICO Gecko image © 1999-2010. © 2010 GEICO NEWMARKET SERVICES ublisher of 95 U.S. and 32 International Relocation Guides, NewMarket PServices, Inc., is proud to introduce our online version. Now you may easily access the same information you find in each one of our 127 Relocation Guides at www.NewMarketServices.com. In addition to the content of our 127 professional written City Relocation Guides, the NewMarket Web Site allows us to assist movers in more than 20 countries by encouraging you and your family to share your moving experiences in our NewMarket Web Site Forums. You may share numerous moving tips and information of interest to help others settle into their new location and ease the entire transition process. We invite everyone to visit and add helpful www.NewMarketServices.com information through our many available forums. Share with others your knowledge of your new location or perhaps your former location. If you ever need to research a city for any reason, from considering a move to just checking where somebody you know is staying, this is the site for you.
    [Show full text]
  • P. O. Box 8511 - Chicago, Illinois 60680
    Dennis Ahrens, President 5-11 Club, Inc. Jim Mitidiero, Vice-President P. O. Box 8511 - Chicago, Illinois 60680 www.5-11ClubChicago.org MINUTES OF THE APRIL 2016 GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING The General Membership meeting was held at the Robert J. Quinn Fire Academy located at 558 W. DeKoven Street on Wednesday April 27th and was called to order at 7:35pm by Vice-President Mitidiero with twenty-six Regular Members, and one guest, Sandy Bertog, present. The minutes of the March General Membership Meeting were presented to the membership for review. Motion made by Bud Bertog and seconded by Bob Johnson to approve the minutes as written. Motion carried. Treasurer Paige Van Vorst reported that the treasury remains solvent. Recent expenses included thirty copies of the March meeting minutes, bottled water, Gatorade and snack bars for SSU #1 and replenishment supplies purchased on the club Visa Debit card while the support units were operating at the 4-11 Alarm fire on Division Street on March 8. Income included club membership dues and the February Red Box collection. Motion made by John Divita and seconded by Bill Schreiber to approve the report. Motion carried. The following bills were presented to the membership for reimbursement: Jim Mitidiero for restocking supplies on SSU#2 and 3 and name tags for recent new members. Motion made by Mike Penchar and seconded by Bill Schreiber to pay the bill. Motion carried. Bill Kuenstle presented a bill for the two new front tires on SSU #1. Motion made by Mike Kerr and seconded by Mike Ahrens to pay the bill.
    [Show full text]
  • Chicago Tragedy
    LH&RB Newsletter of the Legal History & Rare Books SIS of the American Association of Law Libraries Volume 22 Number 2 Summer 2016 Hog Butcher for the World, Chicago Tragedy: A Guide Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, to Some of the Famous Player with Railroads and the Nation's Freight Handler; and Infamous Law-Related Stormy, husky, brawling, Sites of Chicago City of the Big Shoulders… Mark W. Podvia —Carl Sandburg, Chicago The City of Chicago has had its more than its share of murder, mayhem and disaster. All of these happenings attracted national attention; a few resulted in regulations that have improved health and safety. This is a listing of some of the most well-known Chicago tragedies. You might want to visit some or all of these places during your time in Chicago. Several of these are located within walking distance of the AALL Annual Meeting. Some others can be reached via public transportation. Be aware that not all of these locations are open to the public. Federal Regulations Gone Awry: The Sinking of the SS Eastland Chicago Riverwalk between LaSalle and Clark Streets The SS Eastland, a popular Chicago-based excursion boat, was launched in 1902. Known for its speed, the vessel had a design flaw that made it top-heavy. The problem was worsened following the passage of the Federal Seamen's Act in 1915. The act, adopted is response to the RMS Titanic disaster, required the retrofitting of a complete set of lifeboats on the Eastland. The additional weight made the unstable ship even more dangerous.
    [Show full text]
  • Property Rights in Reclaimed Land and the Battle for Streeterville
    Columbia Law School Scholarship Archive Faculty Scholarship Faculty Publications 2013 Contested Shore: Property Rights in Reclaimed Land and the Battle for Streeterville Joseph D. Kearney Thomas W. Merrill Columbia Law School, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/faculty_scholarship Part of the Environmental Law Commons, and the Property Law and Real Estate Commons Recommended Citation Joseph D. Kearney & Thomas W. Merrill, Contested Shore: Property Rights in Reclaimed Land and the Battle for Streeterville, 107 NW. U. L. REV. 1057 (2013). Available at: https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/faculty_scholarship/383 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Faculty Publications at Scholarship Archive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Scholarship by an authorized administrator of Scholarship Archive. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Copyright 2013 by Northwestern University School of Law Printed in U.S.A. Northwestern University Law Review Vol. 107, No. 3 Articles CONTESTED SHORE: PROPERTY RIGHTS IN RECLAIMED LAND AND THE BATTLE FOR STREETERVILLE Joseph D. Kearney & Thomas W. Merrill ABSTRACT-Land reclaimed from navigable waters is a resource uniquely susceptible to conflict. The multiple reasons for this include traditional hostility to interference with navigable waterways and the weakness of rights in submerged land. In Illinois, title to land reclaimed from Lake Michigan was further clouded by a shift in judicial understanding in the late nineteenth century about who owned the submerged land, starting with an assumption of private ownership but eventually embracing state ownership. The potential for such legal uncertainty to produce conflict is vividly illustrated by the history of the area of Chicago known as Streeterville, the area of reclaimed land along Lake Michigan north of the Chicago River and east of Michigan Avenue.
    [Show full text]
  • Brand Lookbook
    2017-2018 LOOKBOOK WE VALUE EVERY PERSON WHO AUDIENCE VISITS, CALLS, OR WRITES TO OUR OFFICES EVERY MEMBER OF OUR TEAM WHO IS COMMITTED TO SERVING OUR CITY EVERY COMMUNITY PARTNER WHO IS DEDICATED TO IMPROVING OUR CITY EVERY VOLUNTEER WHO GIVES THEIR TIME FOR THE BETTERMENT OF OUR CITY EVERY CHICAGOAN 2 Brand Guidelines | Audience brand colors CMYK 0 98 95 0 RGB 237 33 39 PMS 485 C RED HEX# ED2127 CMYK 0 0 0 0 RGB 255 255 255 HEX# ffffff CMYK 99 81 15 3 RGB 25 74 141 WHITE PMS 301 C HEX# 194A8D CMYK 83 6 96 0 RGB 0 166 81 PMS 354 C BLUE HEX# 00A651 color usage CMYK Printing RGB Printing PMS Printing GREEN HEX Web, On-Screen Brand Guidelines | Audience Brand Guidelines | Brand Colors 3 LOGO Our logo embodies the history, future and community of Chicago. The history of Chicago is the heart of our brand. The 4 layers of stars within our logo represent the 4 stars of the official Chicago flag. The 4 stars within the flag represent Fort Dearborn, the Great Chicago Fire, the World’s Columbian Exposition and a Century of Progress. The colors red, white and blue tell the story of Chicago. Red represents the municipal identity of Chicago. White represents the diverse union of communities in Chicago. Blue represents the north and south branch of the Chicago River. The future of Chicago pushes our brand to be better. The color green within our logo represents growth, vitality and community. Chicago is evolving and our brand is evolving along with it.
    [Show full text]
  • Chicago Chicago
    Top places to go, where to eat, what to drink, on a budget, how to get there… a guide to your stay in Chicago! Chicago Top Attractions 1. Art institute of Chicago Voted #1 Museum in the World 2. Cloud Gate; Anish Kapoor sculpture in Millennium Park 3. Millennium Park; architecture, sculpture and landscape design 4. Museum of Contemporary Art 5. Lakefront Trail 6. Willis Tower 7. Chicago Cubs Game @ashleyliebig has organised a #smaccball block for the Monday night. The block is sold out but still plenty of tickets for the game. 8. Richard H Driehaus Museum Cloud Gate Millennium Park 9. Museum of Science/Industry Chicago Getting Around 1. From the Airport Taxis; $40-$50 GO Airport Express Buses 2. Around Chicago Chicago Transit Authority (transitchicago.com) – ‘L trains”, buses. Unlimited Ride Passes 1 day $5.75 3 day $14 7 day $23 Taxis $2.25 for first 1/9th mile and 20c thereafter Chicago Shopping 1. The Magnificent Mile 2. Jazz Record Mart Probably the largest jazz and blues store in the country, if not the world. A must stop for anyone with an interest in either genre. 3. Water Tower Place Walking distance from the Sheraton 4. Adagio Teas 5. Myopic Books 6. American Girl Place (in water tower place) 7. French Market 8. Vosges Haut-Chocolat The Magnificent Mile, Michigan Ave Chicago Ingest and Imbibe 1. Restaurants Top end; Alinea, Girl and the Goat, Table 52, Topolobampo Fabulous Italian; Nico Osteria, Tratorria No 10, Eataly Steak; Gibson Steak House Pizza; Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria: Deep Dish Pizza Tapas; Iberico, Mercat a la Planxa Hotdogs; Portillo’s, Superdawg 2.
    [Show full text]
  • Color Map Layout.Indd
    Map 29b • Fire extent TO PRESS 25 Sep 03 DESIGNER: Map 29b has been modified to go across the gutter so it can accompany map 29a (dark Fire map) This shorter version of Map 29b sacrifices relatively little content, if you need the room for captions Irving Park ��������������������������������������� L A K E onV I E Wthis spread ������������������������������������ Fire Limits in Chicago in the 1870s Belmont Lincoln Clark Milwaukee Ch ic a Elston g o ��������� R � � � � � � � � � i ver City limits in 1871 ������ Fullerton � ���������������� Built-up area in 1871 � � Lincoln Area burned in fire � Park � “Fire Limits” � � � � � � � � � � area where � � 1872 ordinance ���������������� � restricted building North � materials � � � � � � � ������������ � � � � � � ����������������� � ������������ � � ����� � DESTROYED � � ����������� � BY FIRE � Chicago � � � � � � � ��������������� � � � � � � ������� � ���������� � � ������������� Business � Madison District ����� � � ���������� ) LAKE � �������������� CHICAGO � d � e ve (Pulaski e ������������� stern M ICHIGAN � Stat Kedzi ��������� We Ashland Halste � 12th (Roosevelt) 40th A � � � � � gden �������� � O � � � � � � 22nd (Cermak) Lumber ������������ District ��������� ���������� � � � � � � � � ����� 31st ����������� ���������� Union ������� ��� Stock �� Yard an Canal ichig O N E M I L E & M 39th (Pershing) Illinois Author: Michael P. Conzen © 2004 The Newberry Library Mason (47th) 47th ������� ������� ������ ���������������� ������� H Y D E P ARK ������������� Progress of the Chicago Fire
    [Show full text]
  • Accidents and Disasters in the U.S. and the World 512:235 Monday/Thursday 11:30-12:50 Frelinghuysen Hall B6, College Ave
    Accidents and Disasters in the U.S. and the World 512:235 Monday/Thursday 11:30-12:50 Frelinghuysen Hall B6, College Ave. Campus Prof. Jamie Pietruska <[email protected]> Office: Van Dyck 311 Office phone: 848.932.8544 Office hours: TBA or by appointment Course Description This course examines the histories of accidents and disasters in the United States and the world from the 17th to the 21st centuries, with particular emphasis on the 19th and 20th centuries. Although accidents and disasters are often understood as isolated, rare events, catastrophic events have been continuously important to the history of the United States, both at home and abroad, for the past four centuries. Through ongoing efforts to anticipate unforeseen dangers, develop new tools for risk management, build infrastructures for relief, expand the capacity of the state for disaster response, and remember victims, accidents and disasters have become increasingly central to everyday life in the United States. The course will revolve around four sets of questions: 1.) To what extent are “natural” disasters, like hurricanes and floods, in fact “unnatural”— 2 shaped by human decisions about markets and economic growth, science and technology, and governance? Conversely, to what extent are the failures of human-built technological systems like nuclear reactors and electrical grids beyond human control? 2.) How can historians understand singular events—like the Great Chicago Fire (1871) and the San Francisco Earthquake (1906), and high-profile accidents like Chernobyl
    [Show full text]